a wee bit stuck...

[Katymot2]

Hi there. I've been trying to parse this clause: 'what i'm concerned about'. I think that 'I' is the subject, 'am' is the verb and 'concerned about' is the complement ('concerned' is an adjective in this case and 'about' is a post-modifying preposition?) Am I right? if so, then what is 'what'?

[JCrawf]

Hello, K,
"What" as used means "the thing(s)," and it's the subject.

The thing I'm concerned about is the poor quality of the water.
Regards

[Katymot2]

super! so i got the rest right then?

[MikeNewYork]

Hi there. I've been trying to parse this clause: 'what i'm concerned about'. I think that 'I' is the subject, 'am' is the verb and 'concerned about' is the complement ('concerned' is an adjective in this case and 'about' is a post-modifying preposition?) Am I right? if so, then what is 'what'?

I = subject
am = verb
concerned = predicate adjective
about what = preposional phrase

[Katymot2]

Thanks, that makes sense.

[MikeNewYork]

Thanks, that makes sense.

Great! When you are trying to parse a question, it is helpful to rearrange the word order before parsing it. The same is true with clauses like your example.

What I am worried about = I am worried about what.
Whom would you like to see = You would like to see whom.

That makes life easier.